Infant care has been a primary concern of human kind since the dawn of time. Large amounts of capital and time are expended in the pursuit of keeping babies healthy and happy. Improved devices are constantly being introduced.
Infants are particularly sensitive to harm from electromagnetic radiation. A baby's skin and eyes are much more sensitive than those of adults. Infants are easily sunburned and can suffer eye damage from direct sunlight. It is therefore important to protect the baby from over-exposure. This is particularly important in situations where the baby is somewhat free to throw-off blankets, bonnets and other protections wrapped about the infant. Such situations occur in infant car seats and other items of infant transport and furniture.
One of the difficulties with infant car seats and other methods of carrying and securing infants is that they provide little or no protection from the sun. Since the infant is ordinarily secured in a reclining position, the rays of the sun which come in through the car's windows or sunroof will often fall directly upon the face of the baby. It is orginarily not practical to place a permanent shade device on an infant car seat because it limits the accessibility of the infant. Furthermore, any sort of rigid type of shade could significantly increase the risk of harm to the infant in the case of an accident.
The problem with unrestricted sunshine on the skin of an infant is not limited to the car seat situation. Traditional baby perambulators or strollers have included cowls which provide a shaded area of the stroller for the baby's head. These cowls have traditionally been an integral part of the stroller device. Other types of infant furniture have also occasionally been provided with some variety of sunshade device. Makeshift half-tents and other relatively portable devices have also been utilized for protecting infants and other items from the sun in outdoor settings such as parks or beaches.
A need has arisen for an appropriate all-purpose baby shade device which may be utilized in a variety of applications. Such a device, in order to be desirable, must combine the features of effectiveness, portability and safety. Prior art devices have been, in the main, nonportable in that they have been rigidly attached to a specific item. The prior art devices which have been portable tend to be rigid, a factor which severely limits the safety since the collapse or movement of such a device could harm the infant. The exposed support posts of various prior art devices have created a significant problem due to the infants' penchant for grasping and pulling anything within reach. The effectiveness of such devices is thus vitiated since they are often collapsed by the infant, a factor which can also be a safety hazard since the infant might then asphixiate in the shade material. None of the prior art devices have adequately fulfilled the need for a multipurpose infant shade which is economical, readily portable, effective and safe.